Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Tuesday 5 October 1999

Scottish Executive

Community Care

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which local authorities have implemented direct payment schemes for community care service users with disabilities under the powers given to them by the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996 and what is the level of take up of existing schemes.

Iain Gray: Social work departments were consulted on their experience of direct payments after the first year of implementation of the Community Care (Direct Payments) Act 1996. The councils listed below indicated that they operated, or intended to operate, a direct payments scheme and that a total of 70 disabled people were receiving payments at December 1997.

  Aberdeenshire

  Aberdeen City

  Argyll & Bute

  City of Edinburgh

  Dumfries & Galloway

  East Lothian

  Highland

  Moray

  North Lanarkshire

  Orkney

  Scottish Borders

  Shetland Islands

  South Ayrshire

  We have recently commissioned research to update the 1998 survey and provide information on the experience of people with disabilities in making use of the arrangements.

  We are considering at present how to develop the direct payments scheme.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the schools’ excellence fund by project and amount for the next three years.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The information for 2000-01 and 2001-02 is contained in Tables 1 and 2. These provisional allocations will be updated using data from the 1998 and 1999 school census.

  The allocations for the Classroom Assistants and Reducing Class Sizes Programmes for years 2 and 3 have not yet been agreed as funding for these programmes depends on progress towards meeting the targets.

  No decisions have been taken about extending Excellence Funding beyond 2001-02.

  TABLE 1

  Excellence Fund 2000-01

  Core Programme

  


 


Alternatives 

  


Study 

  


Early 

  


Supporting 

  


Support for 

  


Higher 

  


NGfL 


Total 

  




Education Authority 


to Exclusion 

  


Support 

  


Intervention 

  


Parents 

  


Teachers 

  


Still 

  


 


 


 




 


 


 


 


 


 


 


Current 

  

Capital 

  

 




Scotland 

  

£8,000,000 

  

£10,000,000 

  

£13,000,000 

  

£5,000,000 

  

£10,100,000 

  

£5,000,000 

  

£8,400,000 

  

£15,000,000 

  

£109,600,000 

  



Aberdeen City 

  

£280,052 

  

£349,776 

  

£455,556 

  

£175,032 

  

£356,661 

  

£180,748 

  

£298,294 

  

£532,669 

  

£2,628,788 

  



Aberdeenshire 

  

£401,684 

  

£485,208 

  

£680,359 

  

£251,052 

  

£459,842 

  

£233,038 

  

£410,509 

  

£733,051 

  

£3,654,744 

  



Angus 

  

£181,001 

  

£230,285 

  

£287,532 

  

£113,126 

  

£235,412 

  

£119,302 

  

£189,398 

  

£338,211 

  

£1,694,267 

  



Argyll & Bute 

  

£149,013 

  

£177,181 

  

£256,997 

  

£93,133 

  

£184,857 

  

£93,681 

  

£149,998 

  

£267,854 

  

£1,372,714 

  



Clackmannanshire 

  

£77,330 

  

£93,461 

  

£130,896 

  

£48,331 

  

£90,957 

  

£46,095 

  

£81,317 

  

£145,208 

  

£713,597 

  



Dumfries & Galloway 

  

£250,845 

  

£303,567 

  

£423,955 

  

£156,778 

  

£327,985 

  

£166,216 

  

£253,473 

  

£452,630 

  

£2,335,452 

  



Dundee City 

  

£220,480 

  

£281,744 

  

£348,234 

  

£137,800 

  

£284,682 

  

£144,271 

  

£235,423 

  

£420,398 

  

£2,073,032 

  



East Ayrshire 

  

£202,379 

  

£254,386 

  

£326,557 

  

£126,487 

  

£242,954 

  

£123,124 

  

£214,674 

  

£383,347 

  

£1,873,907 

  



East Dunbartonshire 

  

£205,218 

  

£272,762 

  

£306,932 

  

£128,262 

  

£255,012 

  

£129,235 

  

£221,688 

  

£395,871 

  

£1,914,979 

  



East Lothian 

  

£134,543 

  

£154,346 

  

£241,248 

  

£84,089 

  

£148,640 

  

£75,327 

  

£137,855 

  

£246,170 

  

£1,222,219 

  



East Renfrewshire 

  

£166,602 

  

£220,259 

  

£251,098 

  

£104,126 

  

£200,272 

  

£101,494 

  

£179,863 

  

£321,183 

  

£1,544,897 

  



Edinburgh, City of 

  

£511,767 

  

£614,599 

  

£872,672 

  

£319,854 

  

£575,000 

  

£291,398 

  

£547,100 

  

£976,964 

  

£4,709,354 

  



Eilean Siar 

  

£61,367 

  

£82,435 

  

£90,361 

  

£38,354 

  

£180,589 

  

£45,759 

  

£51,099 

  

£91,249 

  

£641,213 

  



Falkirk 

  

£219,081 

  

£270,390 

  

£361,665 

  

£136,925 

  

£274,695 

  

£139,210 

  

£231,740 

  

£413,821 

  

£2,047,528 

  



Fife 

  

£563,849 

  

£719,984 

  

£891,449 

  

£352,406 

  

£705,490 

  

£357,527 

  

£600,010 

  

£1,071,447 

  

£5,262,162 

  



Glasgow City 

  

£780,721 

  

£914,023 

  

£1,369,833 

  

£487,950 

  

£902,861 

  

£457,550 

  

£814,709 

  

£1,454,838 

  

£7,182,486 

  



Highland 

  

£376,902 

  

£466,864 

  

£619,437 

  

£235,564 

  

£516,364 

  

£261,682 

  

£385,062 

  

£687,612 

  

£3,549,488 

  



Inverclyde 

  

£141,087 

  

£182,400 

  

£219,391 

  

£88,180 

  

£181,086 

  

£91,770 

  

£151,232 

  

£270,057 

  

£1,325,203 

  



Midlothian 

  

£135,721 

  

£170,950 

  

£218,424 

  

£84,826 

  

£167,991 

  

£85,134 

  

£144,449 

  

£257,945 

  

£1,265,442 

  



Moray 

  

£147,169 

  

£180,913 

  

£244,134 

  

£91,981 

  

£188,255 

  

£95,403 

  

£153,408 

  

£273,942 

  

£1,375,206 

  



North Ayrshire 

  

£228,470 

  

£287,880 

  

£367,514 

  

£142,794 

  

£278,756 

  

£141,268 

  

£242,230 

  

£432,553 

  

£2,121,465 

  



North Lanarkshire 

  

£556,254 

  

£725,709 

  

£854,225 

  

£347,659 

  

£706,981 

  

£358,283 

  

£597,470 

  

£1,066,911 

  

£5,213,492 

  



Orkney Islands 

  

£43,154 

  

£58,182 

  

£63,195 

  

£26,971 

  

£112,878 

  

£28,602 

  

£36,635 

  

£65,420 

  

£435,037 

  



Perth & Kinross 

  

£200,521 

  

£242,177 

  

£339,701 

  

£125,326 

  

£246,020 

  

£124,678 

  

£205,783 

  

£367,470 

  

£1,851,676 

  



Renfrewshire 

  

£287,525 

  

£371,315 

  

£447,759 

  

£179,703 

  

£346,674 

  

£175,687 

  

£308,462 

  

£550,825 

  

£2,667,950 

  



Scottish Borders 

  

£171,247 

  

£210,486 

  

£284,117 

  

£107,029 

  

£219,624 

  

£111,301 

  

£176,046 

  

£314,368 

  

£1,594,217 

  



Shetland Islands 

  

£51,436 

  

£66,280 

  

£80,339 

  

£32,148 

  

£174,041 

  

£44,100 

  

£43,205 

  

£77,151 

  

£568,701 

  



South Ayrshire 

  

£186,729 

  

£248,598 

  

£278,607 

  

£116,706 

  

£240,757 

  

£122,011 

  

£200,058 

  

£357,247 

  

£1,750,712 

  



South Lanarkshire 

  

£503,737 

  

£647,461 

  

£789,489 

  

£314,836 

  

£615,071 

  

£311,705 

  

£537,279 

  

£959,426 

  

£4,679,004 

  



Stirling 

  

£136,026 

  

£177,909 

  

£208,165 

  

£85,016 

  

£176,942 

  

£89,670 

  

£144,121 

  

£257,359 

  

£1,275,209 

  



West Dunbartonshire 

  

£165,521 

  

£215,862 

  

£254,321 

  

£103,451 

  

£197,661 

  

£100,171 

  

£178,957 

  

£319,566 

  

£1,535,510 

  



West Lothian 

  

£262,568 

  

£322,608 

  

£435,834 

  

£164,105 

  

£304,987 

  

£154,561 

  

£278,451 

  

£497,235 

  

£2,420,349 

  



  Total for Scotland - Classroom Assistants £19,500,000

  Reducing Class Sizes £15,600,000

  Table 2 

  Excellence Fund - 2001-02

  Core Programme

  


 


Alternatives 

  


Study 

  


Early 

  


Supporting 

  


Support for 

  


Higher 

  


NGfL 


Total 

  




Education Authority 


to Exclusion 

  


Support 

  


Intervention 

  


Parents 

  


Teachers 

  


Still 

  


Current 

  


 




 


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  


£000s 

  




Scotland 

  

£10,000,000 

  

£10,000,000 

  

£13,000,000 

  

£5,000,000 

  

£10,000,000 

  

£5,000,000 

  

£13,600,000 

  

£122,700,000 

  



Aberdeen City 

  

£350,065 

  

£349,776 

  

£455,556 

  

£175,032 

  

£353,129 

  

£180,748 

  

£482,953 

  

£2,347,260 

  



Aberdeenshire 

  

£502,104 

  

£485,208 

  

£680,359 

  

£251,052 

  

£455,290 

  

£233,038 

  

£664,633 

  

£3,271,685 

  



Angus 

  

£226,251 

  

£230,285 

  

£287,532 

  

£113,126 

  

£233,081 

  

£119,302 

  

£306,645 

  

£1,516,221 

  



Argyll & Bute 

  

£186,266 

  

£177,181 

  

£256,997 

  

£93,133 

  

£183,027 

  

£93,681 

  

£242,854 

  

£1,233,139 

  



Clackmannanshire 

  

£96,663 

  

£93,461 

  

£130,896 

  

£48,331 

  

£90,057 

  

£46,095 

  

£131,655 

  

£637,160 

  



Dumfries & Galloway 

  

£313,557 

  

£303,567 

  

£423,955 

  

£156,778 

  

£324,738 

  

£166,216 

  

£410,385 

  

£2,099,197 

  



Dundee City 

  

£275,600 

  

£281,744 

  

£348,234 

  

£137,800 

  

£281,863 

  

£144,271 

  

£381,161 

  

£1,850,673 

  



East Ayrshire 

  

£252,974 

  

£254,386 

  

£326,557 

  

£126,487 

  

£240,548 

  

£123,124 

  

£347,568 

  

£1,671,643 

  



East Dunbartonshire 

  

£256,523 

  

£272,762 

  

£306,932 

  

£128,262 

  

£252,487 

  

£129,235 

  

£358,923 

  

£1,705,123 

  



East Lothian 

  

£168,179 

  

£154,346 

  

£241,248 

  

£84,089 

  

£147,168 

  

£75,327 

  

£223,194 

  

£1,093,552 

  



East Renfrewshire 

  

£208,252 

  

£220,259 

  

£251,098 

  

£104,126 

  

£198,289 

  

£101,494 

  

£291,206 

  

£1,374,724 

  



Edinburgh, City of 

  

£639,709 

  

£614,599 

  

£872,672 

  

£319,854 

  

£569,307 

  

£291,398 

  

£885,781 

  

£4,193,320 

  



Eilean Siar 

  

£76,709 

  

£82,435 

  

£90,361 

  

£38,354 

  

£178,801 

  

£45,759 

  

£82,732 

  

£595,151 

  



Falkirk 

  

£273,851 

  

£270,390 

  

£361,665 

  

£136,925 

  

£271,976 

  

£139,210 

  

£375,198 

  

£1,829,215 

  



Fife 

  

£704,812 

  

£719,984 

  

£891,449 

  

£352,406 

  

£698,505 

  

£357,527 

  

£971,445 

  

£4,696,128 

  



Glasgow City 

  

£975,901 

  

£914,023 

  

£1,369,833 

  

£487,950 

  

£893,922 

  

£457,550 

  

£1,319,053 

  

£6,418,233 

  



Highland 

  

£471,128 

  

£466,864 

  

£619,437 

  

£235,564 

  

£511,252 

  

£261,682 

  

£623,434 

  

£3,189,362 

  



Inverclyde 

  

£176,359 

  

£182,400 

  

£219,391 

  

£88,180 

  

£179,293 

  

£91,770 

  

£244,851 

  

£1,182,244 

  



Midlothian 

  

£169,652 

  

£170,950 

  

£218,424 

  

£84,826 

  

£166,328 

  

£85,134 

  

£233,870 

  

£1,129,185 

  



Moray 

  

£183,962 

  

£180,913 

  

£244,134 

  

£91,981 

  

£186,391 

  

£95,403 

  

£248,374 

  

£1,231,159 

  



North Ayrshire 

  

£285,587 

  

£287,880 

  

£367,514 

  

£142,794 

  

£275,996 

  

£141,268 

  

£392,181 

  

£1,893,221 

  



North Lanarkshire 

  

£695,317 

  

£725,709 

  

£854,225 

  

£347,659 

  

£699,982 

  

£358,283 

  

£967,332 

  

£4,648,507 

  



Orkney Islands 

  

£53,943 

  

£58,182 

  

£63,195 

  

£26,971 

  

£111,761 

  

£28,602 

  

£59,314 

  

£401,967 

  



Perth & Kinross 

  

£250,651 

  

£242,177 

  

£339,701 

  

£125,326 

  

£243,584 

  

£124,678 

  

£333,173 

  

£1,659,290 

  



Renfrewshire 

  

£359,406 

  

£371,315 

  

£447,759 

  

£179,703 

  

£343,242 

  

£175,687 

  

£499,415 

  

£2,376,527 

  



Scottish Borders 

  

£214,058 

  

£210,486 

  

£284,117 

  

£107,029 

  

£217,449 

  

£111,301 

  

£285,027 

  

£1,429,467 

  



Shetland Islands 

  

£64,295 

  

£66,280 

  

£80,339 

  

£32,148 

  

£172,318 

  

£44,100 

  

£69,951 

  

£529,431 

  



South Ayrshire 

  

£233,411 

  

£248,598 

  

£278,607 

  

£116,706 

  

£238,374 

  

£122,011 

  

£323,904 

  

£1,561,609 

  



South Lanarkshire 

  

£629,672 

  

£647,461 

  

£789,489 

  

£314,836 

  

£608,981 

  

£311,705 

  

£869,880 

  

£4,172,023 

  



Stirling 

  

£170,032 

  

£177,909 

  

£208,165 

  

£85,016 

  

£175,190 

  

£89,670 

  

£233,339 

  

£1,139,322 

  



West Dunbartonshire 

  

£206,901 

  

£215,862 

  

£254,321 

  

£103,451 

  

£195,704 

  

£100,171 

  

£289,740 

  

£1,366,150 

  



West Lothian 

  

£328,211 

  

£322,608 

  

£435,834 

  

£164,105 

  

£301,967 

  

£154,561 

  

£450,826 

  

£2,158,112 

  



  Total for Scotland - Classroom Assistants £36,000,000

  Reducing Class Sizes £20,100,000

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed budget is for the committee of inquiry into teachers’ pay and conditions announced by the Minister for Children and Education on 17 September 1999.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Our estimate for core expenditure relating to running costs for the Secretariat, committee meetings and the publication of a report is £160,000. In addition, resources will be available to the Committee to commission any research it considers necessary to assist its deliberations. At this early stage it is difficult to provide an estimate for the research work. However, we expect that the total cost of the Inquiry will not exceed £500,000. I will provide Parliament with a full breakdown of costs when the work of the Committee is complete.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the membership and terms of reference of the committee of inquiry into teachers’ pay and conditions announced by the Minister for Children and Education on 17 September 1999.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Details of the membership and terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Education

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline current policy on the provision of careers advice for pupils with special needs.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive’s policy on the provision of careers advice for pupils with special needs is outlined in the Guidance Framework for Careers Service Companies issued in April 1998, which details the scope and standard of service which providers have to deliver. In providing this service, careers service companies seek to ensure that the information is made available in such a way which ensures clients with disabilities, especially those with learning disabilities or sensory impairments are able to access it.

Education

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been lodged with the Student Award Agency for Scotland in each of the past five years.

Henry McLeish: The information requested is given in the table below.

  STUDENT APPLICATIONS RECEIVED IN SAAS

  


Academic Session 


Applications 

  rec’d 




1994-95 

  

118,451 

  



1995-96 

  

121,500 

  



1996-97 

  

123,384 

  



1997-98 

  

128,177 

  



1998-99 

  

125,058

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the annual grant funding received by Inverness College for each year from 1993-94 to 1998-89 in (a) cash terms and (b) adjusted to take account of inflation.

Henry McLeish: The recurrent grant funding including bursary, restructuring and strategic funding made available to Inverness College in cash and real terms (at 1997-1998 prices) is set out in the table below.

   CashReal Terms  1993-94   6,127,684   £6,755,693 1994-95   6,527,970   £7,095,620 1995-96   6,446,217   £6,808,497 1996-97   6,004,983   £6,153,340 1997-98   7,210,500   £7,210,500 1998-99   7,066,400   £6,894,049   

  Additionally, £1,457,000 in capital grants has been made available to the College over the 4-year period 1993-94 to 1996-97.

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish in terms of weighted student units of measurement (WSUMs) the annual activity level of Inverness College for each year from 1993-94 to 1998-99.

Henry McLeish: Data for 1998-99 is not yet available. The information requested for the years 1993-94 to 1997-98 is set out in the table below.

  WSUMs

 1993-94   35,568 1994-95   37,285 1995-96   38,949 1996-97   43,992 1997-98   49,824

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the incorporation of further education colleges in 1993 led, in comparison with the previous system, to additional costs and, if so, whether it will outline these costs.

Henry McLeish: Colleges incurred certain additional costs as a consequence of incorporation, such as the costs of finance, administration and other services previously provided by local authorities. But there were also cost savings, such as local authorities’ central administration recharges, capital financing charges and mandatory rating relief. All of those factors, together with known new expenditure commitments such as inherited property costs, loans, rates etc were fully taken into account in setting colleges’ grant allocations for 1993-94.

  In addition, grants totalling £2.5 million were provided to the colleges in 1992-93 to assist them in meeting preparatory costs.

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council to investigate the reasons for the present funding deficit at Inverness College and to report to the Parliament with its findings.

Henry McLeish: Responsibility for the financial health and funding of all Scotland’s further education colleges has, since 1 July, been a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council. The Council was recently informed by the College about the scale of the financial position which it faces. It has engaged with the College to consider, as a matter of priority, what action requires to be taken by the College’s Board of Management in order to address the situation, including the preparation of a financial recovery plan.

  I have asked the Council to report to me once it has considered the Board’s recovery plan. I shall then write to Mr Ewing and a copy of the correspondence will be placed in SPICe.

Education

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make emergency resources available to Inverness College in order to ensure that staffing levels are not further reduced.

Henry McLeish: This will be a matter for the Scottish Further Education Funding Council to consider, once the College’s Board of Management has prepared a financial recovery plan.

Education

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West): To ask the Scottish Executive who will be the members of the committee of inquiry into the future of teachers’ pay and conditions.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Details of the membership and terms of reference of the Committee of Inquiry are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe).

Employment

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to Her Majesty’s government regarding Kvaerner Govan’s bid for a Ministry of Defence contract for six roll-on, roll-off ferries.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the Ministry of Defence on a wide range of issues, including defence contracts.

Finance

Mr Keith Raffan (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what is its timetable for a more detailed discussion on spending priorities with the Finance Committee, following the publication of its preliminary draft budget for the financial year 2000-01.

Mr Jack McConnell: I intend to discuss and agree a timetable with the Convenor of the Finance Committee shortly.

Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown by department of the amount of unallocated expenditure for the current financial year and each of the next two financial years.

Mr Jack McConnell: I will be making a statement later this week about the Executive’s proposals for allocating resources in the current financial year and in the next two financial years.

Food Standards Agency

Ms Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the proposed staffing levels are for the Food Standards Agency.

Susan Deacon: The Food Standards Agency will have around 500 staff in total with approximately 45 posts within the Food Standards Agency Executive in Scotland.

Food Standards Agency

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to Iain Gray’s statement during the debate on the Food Standards Agency on 15 September 1999 that the Scottish Executive will be able to overrule recommendations made by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), whether it can envisage circumstances in which it would overrule an FSA recommendation where a majority in the Parliament supported the recommendation.

Susan Deacon: The Food Standards Agency will work in an open and transparent way and be empowered to make public the advice it gives to Ministers. It will be for Ministers to consider this advice, and the views expressed by the Scottish Parliament on the Agency’s recommendations, and to explain to MSPs and the public their reasons for not taking the Agency’s advice.

Health

Shona Robison (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the predicted £10 million overspend by Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust will have any adverse impact on patient services.

Susan Deacon: I would refer Ms Robison to my answer to her question number S1W-977. I look to Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust to deliver the highest standard of care within available resources.

Health

Ms Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to lay down guidance for general practitioners seeking to remove patients from their lists.

Susan Deacon: The General Medical Council, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the British Medical Association have provided extensive guidance to general practitioners about removing patients from their lists. The Scottish Executive sees no need to add to this guidance.

Health

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what was the cost, for the last period for which these figures are available, to the National Health Service in Scotland of (a) treating diseases or illnesses caused by smoking, and (b) providing medical treatments to reduce or to stop nicotine addiction in Scotland.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is not held centrally. The precise cost of treating smoking-related disease is difficult to ascertain, since cost data collected centrally from the National Health Service in Scotland cannot be attributed to individual disease. For this reason, any figure provided could only be an estimate. The position is complicated by the fact that most nicotine addiction is treated with over-the-counter products rather than prescription-only products. Our best estimate is that the annual cost to the NHS in Scotland of treating illness and disease caused by smoking is approximately £140 million in terms of GP visits, prescriptions, treatment and operations.

Health

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how the Remote and Rural Areas Resource Centre being set up at Raigmore will achieve its stated aim of strengthening services in all remote and rural parts of Scotland and how it will interact with appropriate local Health Boards.

Susan Deacon: A fundamental principle underlying the creation of the Centre is that it should be a Scotland-wide resource. Its early tasks will include the examination of service delivery and clinical networks – including those which operate across Health Board boundaries – with a view to establishing how they can be built on and developed. It will explore training needs in remote and rural areas and commission research on health matters affecting these areas from a wide variety of sources. It will establish a forum for clinicians from which new joint working initiatives can be developed.

  None of these matters can be tackled effectively without input from all those who have to face the difficulties associated with delivering health care and treatment in the more remote parts of Scotland. It is important to understand that the Centre will not only exist to disseminate advice. It will also serve as a focal point through which local experience and good practice can be shared.

  Detailed arrangements for interaction with Health Boards and other bodies will be taken forward by the Steering Committee which has recently been appointed. The Committee’s membership reflects the intention that the Centre’s activities will extend to all remote and rural areas. Members have been drawn from various parts of Scotland, including Shetland and the other main island groups, and from an equally wide range of disciplines in the Health Service. Arrangements to appoint a Director for the Centre are also under way. I am confident that the Centre will be well equipped to achieve all of its stated aims once it is fully operational.

Health

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide increased assistance for scientists in charge of monitoring amnesic shellfish poisoning, particularly at this time of year and for increased efforts to identify the root cause of the problem.

Susan Deacon: The monitoring programme is undertaken by the Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen. The necessary resources to undertake this work are provided by the Scottish Executive. There are no proposals to change the monitoring or research funding arrangements as a result of this incident.

  The Monitoring and Research programme is routinely reviewed each year, and any necessary changes made to reflect shifts in priorities.

Health

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that no decision is taken on closing child cardiac operation services at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children or at Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick children until the Health and Community Care Committee or the Parliament have debated the issue publicly.

Susan Deacon: I announced the Scottish Executive’s decision on paediatric cardiac surgery in Scotland on 16 September. We owed it to the users of the service and the health professionals who provide it to bring to an end both the worrying uncertainty over the future of the service and the destructive rivalry which was being encouraged between the Glasgow and Edinburgh options.

  The decision was reached after careful consideration of all the available evidence, and came at the end of an exhaustive examination of how paediatric cardiac surgery services of the highest quality could be provided in the future to children throughout Scotland.

  Decisions of this nature are the responsibility of Scottish Ministers. I am happy to be held to account for my actions by the Health and Community Care Committee, the Parliament or any other appropriate forum.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy occurred in Scotland in 1998-99.

Susan Deacon: The figures for deaths where epilepsy has been recorded on the death certificates are as follows:

  

 

1998 

  

Jan-April 1999 

  



Epilepsy recorded as underlying 

  cause of death 

  

99 

  

60 

  



Epilepsy mentioned on death certificate 

  

279 

  

92 

  



Epilepsy mentioned on death certificate, 

  but not Recorded as underlying cause of death 

  

180 

  

52 

  



  April 1999 is the last month for which figures are presently available. It is not possible to say which of the cases where epilepsy was recorded as a cause of death were sudden and unexpected.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what research is currently being undertaken to prevent sudden unexpected death in epilepsy.

Susan Deacon: The causes of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) are not well defined, which handicaps research into ways of preventing it. The Scottish Executive has recently agreed to fund a bid by the charity Epilepsy Bereaved, which has a particular interest in SUDEP, to extend the national sentinel audit they are undertaking into epilepsy-related deaths in England, to cover cases of epilepsy-related deaths in Scotland. One of the aims of the audit will be to identify areas for preventive research.

Health

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Association for Children with Heart Disorders, Glasgow Branch, the largest user group of children’s cardiac services in Scotland, has been asked to contribute to the ongoing review of the future of the Paediatric Surgery Service in Scotland and, if not, why not.

Susan Deacon: The views of the Glasgow Branch of the Association for Children with Heart Disorders were canvassed on the future of paediatric cardiac surgery in Scotland, and they also made representations on the issue.

Health

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that no final decision is made regarding the location of cardiac child surgery services before there has been an opportunity for a debate within the Parliament and the Health and Community Care Committee.

Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer I gave to question S1W-1429.

Health

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Glasgow branch of the Association of Children with Heart Disorders has been consulted regarding the ongoing review of paediatric cardiac surgery at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and, if not, why not.

Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer I gave Pauline McNeill to question S1W-1528.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1219 by Susan Deacon on 14 September 1999, whether it will give a breakdown of the capital budget for Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust for 1999-2000 by project.

Susan Deacon: The table represents the capital budget of Tayside University Hospitals NHS Trust for 1999-2000.

  


PROJECT DESCRIPTION 


FORECAST SPEND 

  (£000) 




Dental Hospital Upgrade 

  

109 

  



Linear accelerator 

  

846 

  



King's Cross Transfer 

  

2,006 

  



Dundee Limb Fitting Centre 

  

4,145 

  



Cancer Centre 

  

327 

  



Mortuary Upgrade 

  

317 

  



Special Care Baby Unit 

  

638 

  



Schemes < £100k 

  

2,531 

  



TOTAL BUDGETED CAPITAL SPEND 

  


£10,919,000

Justice

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have been detained in Cornton Vale prison for non payment of fines.

Mr Jim Wallace: Provisional figures indicate that there were 512 receptions to Cornton Vale prison for non payment of fines in the calendar year to 31 December 1998 and 148 to 31 August 1999.

Justice

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to S1W-950 by Mr Jim Wallace on 14 September 1999, when was the last time it discussed with Her Majesty’s Government assistance to former World War Two prisoners of war residing in Scotland and claiming compensation for suffering endured whilst captives of the Japanese.

Mr Jim Wallace: These are matters reserved to the UK Government. They are included in the Scottish Government’s continuing liaison with the UK Government on all relevant matters.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr Lloyd Quinan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in what circumstances it considers it reasonable to give a holding answer to a written question within 14 days rather than a substantive answer.

Donald Dewar: The Executive aims to answer questions within 14 days. However, holding replies are issued when it has not been possible to answer a question within the allotted period.